I'll Be Your Bodyguard (If You'll Be My Security Blanket)
by NarutoRox
Summary: When one of Loki's pranks gone wrong leaves the team with a young Winter Soldier in their care, they know they're going to have their hands full. Especially since this newer, tinier version of Bucky seems to have a bodyguard complex - and a particular attachment to Tony.


**AN:** My Winteriron Holiday Exchange pinch hitter gift for potrix-the-queerschlaeger on tumblr. Kid-fic is the thing my muse latched onto when I read her likes and dislikes, so have some BB!Bucky shenanigans (with some sneaky feels thrown in). ;)

All the love to followthemuze for the very last minute betaing and for being an angel who made sense of my ramblings. 3

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 **~I'll Be Your Bodyguard (If You'll Be My Security Blanket)~**

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"Okay, you've got to admit though - it's pretty adorable." Clint said, resting his chin in his hand and actually _cooing_ in Tony's direction.

Tony responded by flipping him off with his left hand, since his right was currently petting the hair of the little boy attached to his side.

The little boy who had been a full-grown, very deadly assassin only an hour earlier.

"Can it, Clint," Steve snapped, rubbing a hand over his eyes and shooting the child a tired, tentative little smile.

Tony felt the boy shiver and press himself more firmly against Tony's side, the death-grip he had on Tony's leg increasing.

Steve's face fell, but he shook his head at the apologetic look Tony gave him. "It's fine, Tony," he said softly, his features going from concerned friend to fearless leader in a heartbeat as he turned back to address the rest of the room. "Thor, you're sure this is Loki's work?"

"Aye, I am certain." Thor said gravely, nodding towards the open box lying in the middle of the common room floor. "It has his signature written all over it, and is reminiscent of similar pranks he once played in our youth."

Steve grimaced, a muscle in his jaw twitching as he glanced between Tony and the box. "Any chance of getting him back here to fix it?" he asked, settling back on Thor.

"Of course, Captain. If it can be done, I shall endeavor to find him and make it so. You have my word." Thor vowed, turning on his heel without another word and marching towards the elevator.

Bruce scrambled after him, clapping a hand on Steve's shoulder on his way out and calling after Thor, probably intent on getting more information so the rest of them would have more than 'Loki played a mean prank' to work on.

"Right, well," Tony said once they were gone, clearing his throat awkwardly and glancing helplessly around the room. "What do we do until then?"

The other occupants of the room either avoided eye contact or gaped back at him, but no one answered his question.

The sound of the little boy's stomach rumbling broke the silence.

"You hungry, kiddo?" Tony asked cautiously, pulling his hand back to brush away some of the hair that had fallen over the kid's eyes. Bright blue eyes peeked back at him, and then the kid nodded, a tentative little thing that was barely noticeable unless you were looking for it.

Tony tried to smile reassuringly at him. "Okay, then, how about a bite to eat?" he asked, offering his hand.

There was a second's hesitation, and then, to his surprise, the kid took it and smiled back at him. Tony grinned, and then he was leading a very small, very quiet Bucky Barnes into the kitchen for something to eat.

~X~

They didn't know why Bucky was so attached to Tony, other than the figuring it had something to do with Tony and Bucky being together when it happened.

'It' being Bucky yanking the package Tony had opened out of Tony's hand just as the contents of the package - a fuzzy teddy bear - had started to glow.

Then, between one blink and the next, Tony had found himself on the ground, an armful of tiny, terrified Bucky Barnes sniffling and asking if he was okay while the rest of the Avengers had stormed the living room, yelling and adding to the general confusion.

Bucky had then attached himself to Tony's side like a limpet and remained so ever since, barely speaking a word and practically climbing Tony in his determination to avoid contact with anyone and everyone else. It had been all Tony could do to keep the kid from going into hysterics.

Which made the current scene of him sitting in Tony's lap, eating macaroni and cheese, all the more surreal - at least to Tony, anyway.

"How old do you think he is?" Steve asked, chewing his lower lip nervously and watching as Bucky shoveled in mac and cheese, making delighted little sounds that were, quite frankly, adorable.

"I dunno… five or six, maybe?" Bruce suggested, his face pinched pensively. "Maybe we should just… ask him?"

They all turned to Tony expectantly, who groaned. "Seriously?"

"Hey, he's not talking to us, and he seems to like you." Clint pointed out, shrugging and twirling the spoon he was holding between his fingers. "You've got the best chance of getting an answer out of him."

Tony sighed and looked imploringly to Steve, who shrugged helplessly. "He's got a point."

Sighing again, Tony shifted a bit and tapped the top of Bucky's head. Bucky tilted his head back at him and smiled, relaxing against Tony's chest and offering his full spoon to him.

There was a muffled snort of laughter from Steve, of all people, which Tony ignored as he smiled back down at Bucky. "Uh, thanks, buddy, but I'll eat in a minute. Hey, you want to tell me how old you are?"

Bucky cocked his head to the side, his brow and nose crinkled adorably.

Someone - Bruce, maybe? - sucked in a breath, and Tony had no doubt it was to contain the 'aww' he himself was having to fight down.

"You, you know. How old are you? Like, uh, five, or six, or…?"

"Old," Bucky said, startling Tony into nearly dropping him. Steve clapped his hand over his mouth to muffle whatever sound tried to escape, his eyes sparkling with both mirth and hope.

"Does that mean he knows what's going on?" Clint asked, frowning and looking around at the room at large. "Like, is it still adult Bucky in there, or…?"

Tony swallowed, fighting down a fit of nerves, because holding a child Bucky in his lap was one thing, but holding a child with adult-Bucky's consciousness… "Bucky, do you know where you are?"

Bucky nodded, swinging his legs absently. "Home. Your tower."

Tony looked over at Bruce, who made a 'go on' motion at him.

"Then you know… you know who I am?" he asked, trying to ignore the others' scrutiny.

Bucky beamed at him, an expression so filled with warmth that it took Tony's breath away. "Of course! You're Tony," he said, reaching back and patting Tony's face before returning to his food.

Tony blinked, dumbstruck, and looked back up to find the others in a similar state. "Uh…"

"Okay, this is fucking _weird_ ," Clint muttered, disturbed. "I mean, if he's got some of Bucky in there you'd think he'd be all over Steve, not…" he flopped a hand at Tony. "Even Sam or Nat, or, hell, me, I've got more dad vibes than Tony."

Tony scowled at him. "And just what is that supposed to mean, Barton? I'm not good enough?" he snapped, not noticing the way Bucky had gone still in his lap.

"No, 'course not. Just, you know, you're… you?" Clint suggested, shrugging. "Look, I'm not trying to - hey!" he yelped as a wad of macaroni and cheese went sailing through the air and hit him in the face. "What, what the hell?!"

Natasha doubled over laughing, while Clint wiped his face in shock.

Amused and astonished himself, Tony looked down at Bucky, who was glaring murderously at Clint.

"Leave Tony alone!" he cried, dipping his spoon into his bowl to reload.

Clint threw his arms up in surrender. "Okay okay, jeez! It won't happen again," he assured hastily, backing up and hiding behind Steve, who'd joined in on Natasha's laughter.

Bucky scowled, tilting his spoon back and no doubt willing to take another shot around Steve's bulk, but Tony grabbed his hand before he could let fly.

"We're good, buddy." Tony assured him, ruffling his hair with his other hand. "I think Clint has learned his lesson, okay?"

Bucky frowned, then nodded, once, and offered him another bite of mac and cheese, his little face morphing as he smiled warmly at him.

"I'll protect you," he told Tony solemnly after he'd accepted the bite, patting his face clumsily again.

"My hero," Tony said hoarsely, ignoring the choked-off laughter from the others.

~X~

Thus began the reign of tiny bodyguard Bucky.

It was cute and sweet, really - or at least, Tony thought so. Everyone else? Not so much. Not after the first day or two, anyway.

For anyone who crossed Tony - or at least, crossed Tony in Bucky's eyes - made it onto Bucky's shit list, and no infraction was too small.

Clint remained at the top of the list thanks to his stunt in the kitchen, and got something thrown at him whenever he got within spitting distance of Tony and his new defender.

After Clint came Natasha, though there was no discernable reason for it. They thought perhaps that on some subliminal level Bucky remembered what she could do and was capable of, because he seemed to consider her the largest threat. He wouldn't let her anywhere near Tony, putting his little body between them whenever she entered the room and refusing to let her touch Tony directly, shooting her suspicious glares whenever he saw her.

Sam got on Bucky's bad side by throwing a water bottle at Tony and missing, hitting Tony in the shoulder instead of his outstretched hand, and leading to Bucky pelting a juice box at the back of Sam's head hard enough to knock him over.

Bruce made the list by getting too 'snuggly' with Tony on the couch, resulting in a tiny foot wedging itself in his crotch, and several tense moments of Tony looking for signs of green while trying to put himself between Bucky and a possible Hulk - a task made more difficult by Bucky attempting to do the same to Tony.

Pepper was a meanie that tried to make Tony go to a meeting when Bucky wanted to nap with him on the couch. Tony's entire coffee pot was demolished after Tony burned his tongue on a sip. Dum-E was hit with a stapler for accidentally dropping Tony's smoothie into his lap. The list went on and on.

Tony actually had to sit down and have a talk with Bucky about throwing things, which he'd thought had gone well - right up until Bucky bit Steve for playfully punching Tony in the shoulder an hour later. Which led to another talk, because if throwing things wasn't okay, neither was chewing on people.

Tony really couldn't believe this was his life now.

"I'd say it was adorable if it wasn't so terrifying," Sam grumbled, eyeing Bucky - who was fast asleep, sprawled across Tony's lap on the couch - warily.

"That's one way of putting it," Clint agreed, scowling. "When is Thor getting back?"

"He didn't exactly give a timetable," Steve grumbled tiredly, rubbing his arm. "I can't believe he _bit_ me - I think he drew blood."

"I can't believe you felt it through all that muscle," Tony retorted, rubbing his hand up and down Bucky's back. "And he didn't mean it, he just…"

"Oh, he meant it, all right. His jaw locked," Steve replied, wincing at the memory. "What I want to know is why. Clint's right, it's a little odd how attached he got to you, but this protective streak is what alarms me."

"He was protecting Tony when he was transformed - maybe that has something to do with it." Natasha suggested, watching them all with crossed arms. "The sentiment could have carried over."

"Maybe," Tony conceded, watching the way Bucky's nose scrunched adorably in his sleep. "As long as it's the biggest problem we have to deal with, though, it's fine by me."

There were several mutters of "Speak for yourself," but Tony didn't pay them any mind. He was too busy trying to figure out if Bucky really had someone's hair in his fist, and mentally preparing himself for a hair-pulling talk tomorrow.

~X~

Their biggest snafu came, though, when a call to assemble came in on the second day.

If it had been any other run-of-the-mill call, Tony would have stayed home, but Doom's newest creations were flyers, and they needed the aerial support.

And the second Tony got ready to suit up, Bucky pitched a fit.

"No!" he wailed, throwing himself at Tony's legs and actually _climbing_ him in order to cling to Tony's neck. "You can't!"

Tony winced, quickly wrapping his arms around Bucky to keep him from falling off or making them both pitch forward. He looked over at Steve, who was already suited up with the cowl on, his mouth in a tense line. "Bucky-"

"No! You'll get hurt!" Bucky cried, wrapping his legs around Tony's waist and clinging like a limpet. "I won't let you!"

"Bucky, we need him. It's important," Steve told him, putting a hand on Bucky's shoulder. "Bruce will stay here with you, but Tony-"

"NO!" Bucky yelled, smacking Steve's hand away and gripping Tony tighter. "I won't let you take him!"

"He's not taking me anywhere, sweetheart," Tony said carefully, grimacing apologetically at Steve, who looked crushed. "We're going, together, to take out bad guys. If we don't, people could get hurt. You don't want that happening, do you?"

Bucky's lower lip wobbled pathetically. "What if _you_ get hurt, though?" he sniffled, eyes swimming with tears. "What if you get hurt, and I'm not there to protect you? What if you don't come back? What if-"

"No, no no, buddy, I promise. I'll come back. And Steve, here, will have my back - right, Steve?"

Steve nodded vigorously. "Promise," he vowed, looking right into Bucky's eyes. "The whole team will."

Bucky glared, his grip on Tony tightening. "You better," he growled, eyes narrowed. "You'd better, or I'll, I'll-"

"He gets the picture, buddy." Tony said, setting Bucky down. "I'll be right back, just as soon as the fight is over, okay? And then we can order pizza and watch Toy Story. Deal?"

Bucky nodded reluctantly, his face still scrunched unhappily, then jerked forward and gave Tony a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"Be careful," he said in a small voice, hugging Tony tightly.

Tony felt his face heat, but that didn't stop him from hugging back - or placing a quick kiss to Bucky's hair.

~X~

Tony blinked groggily, staring up at the ceiling and wondering why he felt so warm. He shifted, noticing most of the warmth was radiating from his left side, and looked down to find Bucky snuggled up against him atop the blankets.

Wait - blankets? Was he in bed? What was he doing in bed - hadn't he just been fighting Doombots?

"Oh good, you're awake." someone said, drawing Tony's attention to the right side of the bed. Clint waved cheerfully at him, then offered Tony a cup of water with a straw.

Tony grunted in acknowledgement, trying to lean over and take the cup without disturbing Bucky. Clint obligingly moved closer and guided the straw to Tony's mouth, handing the cup to him once Tony untangled his right hand from the blankets.

"What happened?" Tony asked once he'd taken a few sips, shifting again and wincing at the soreness.

"You don't remember? Well, I guess you wouldn't, you got hit pretty hard," Clint remarked, taking the cup back from him and placing it on the side table.

Tony squinted at him. "I got hit?"

"More like thrown," Natasha corrected from the other side of the bed, scaring the bejeezus out of Tony.

"Christ, woman! Don't scare me like that - I'm bedridden!" Tony hissed, clutching his chest.

Natasha smirked and clucked her tongue at him. "You can consider it payback for scaring everyone else." she said, giving his foot a gentle squeeze through the blankets. "Bruce says you're fine, amazingly, just some bumps and bruises. You'll be sore, but you'll live." Her face softened, her gaze falling on the little body curled up against Tony's.

Tony's stomach dropped.

"Oh, God," Tony groaned, shifting to stare down at Bucky. His complexion was red and blotchy, like he'd been crying, and the blanket by his face was damp.

"Yeah, it wasn't pretty." Clint informed him, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on the bed. "It took us forever to calm him down. He was furious - he bit Steve again, by the way - and wouldn't leave your side once we got you back to the tower."

Tony winced, pulling his left arm free so he could wrap it around Bucky and tug him closer.

"Steve feels awful - about breaking his promise, not the bite, though I doubt that feels good, either - but on the bright side, me and Nat are back on Bucky's good side." Clint continued, wiggling his eyebrows.

Tony cocked his head in confusion.

"We're the ones that brought you back, and Clint shot the Doombot that threw you into that building," Natasha explained, shoving Clint's feet off the bed and shooting him a reproachful look when he rolled his eyes at her.

"He made us your honorary bodyguards." Clint added, nodding gravely, then yelping when Natasha pinched him.

Bucky started at the noise, jerking awake with a snort. He looked around blearily, his eyes widening and then welling up with tears when they settled on Tony.

"Tony!" he cried, scooting forward and wrapping his arms around Tony. "You're awake," he sobbed, burying his face in the crook of Tony's neck. "I thought you weren't going to wake up, I thought-"

"Hey, hey, shhh, it's okay, I'm okay." Tony soothed, running his hand up and down Bucky's back. "It's fine, see? I told you I'd come back, and I did." He heard the click of the door, and when he looked up Natasha and Clint were missing.

Bucky pulled away to inspect Tony's face carefully, patting Tony's right cheek where it felt like a bruise was forming. "But you got hurt," he accused, narrowing his eyes. "You got hurt, and you wouldn't wake up, and I was _scared_ ," he said, shivering in Tony's lap. "And you said, and Steve said, and," He gulped, more tears falling down his cheeks. "You got _hurt_."

"I know, sweetheart. And I'm sorry," Tony sighed, shifting Bucky so his weight wasn't pressing on any sore places - which Tony was realizing was pretty much everywhere. God, he'd forgotten how much get thrown through a building _hurt_. "But I came back, just like I said I would. And you can't be mad at Steve, because it wasn't his fault. He feels just as bad about this as you do, I know it."

Bucky glowered, his hands clenching into fists. "But he said-"

"He said he'd have my back, which he did." Tony reminded him, running his hands down down Bucky's arms and gently forcing Bucky's hands to uncurl. "But sometimes things happen that are out of our control. There wasn't anything he could do, it just happened. Do you think you could have done anything if you'd been there?"

Bucky looked down at their hands. "No," he said quietly, wrapping his right hand around Tony's thumb. "But that's why I didn't want you to go. If you hadn't gone, you wouldn't have been hurt."

"Maybe," Tony agreed. "But Steve might have. Or Clint, or Natasha, or Sam, or anyone else that got in Doom's way. And then what?"

Bucky squirmed uncomfortably. "You'd be sad," he said, biting his lip.

Tony shifted him again to get his attention. " _I'd_ be sad? They're your friends, too, buddy." Tony reminded him gently.

Bucky nodded, but still wouldn't look Tony in the eye. "I'd be sad, too." he agreed, then added, almost shyly, "But you're my favorite."

Tony laughed, a feeling he didn't want to examine too closely blooming in his chest. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? I'm everyone's favorite."

Bucky grinned, eyes sparkling, then leaned forward and curled up against Tony's chest. "I'm glad you're okay, Tony."

Tony leaned back against the pillows and tugged the blankets up around them, gently ruffling Bucky's hair. "Me too, kiddo." he mumbled, eyes heavy.

"Are you going back to sleep, now?"

"Just for a little while, buddy." Tony mumbled around a yawn, kissing Bucky's hair.

Bucky was quiet for a minute, long enough that Tony thought he might have drifted off. Then, "Goodnight, Tony."

Tony chuckled. "Night night, snowflake."

~X~

Tony startled awake some time later, disoriented, and unsure of what had woken him up.

He didn't know how long he'd been asleep, but could see it was still dark out, so it couldn't have been long.

He yawned, deciding to try giving sleep another try, when he heard a sniffle.

"Bucky?" Tony whispered, shifting around until he could get a good look at Bucky's face. "Are you okay?"

He got a pitiful little sob in answer - one that made his own throat tighten in sympathy - and sat up, pulling Bucky with him.

Bucky's face was wet, his eyes red and swollen, little face pinched in misery. "S-sorry…"

"Sorry?" Tony asked, alarmed, cupping Bucky's face and tilting his head back. "Bucky? Baby, what's wrong?"

"S-scared," Bucky sniffled, rubbing at his eyes. "I h-had a b-bad dream. D-didn't mean to w-wake you."

Tony froze, his heart sinking. "Wake me? Buddy, you never need to worry about that." he whispered, pulling Bucky in for a hug. "Never, you hear me? If you need something, no matter what it is or what I'm doing, you need to come tell me, okay?"

Bucky sniffled and nodded, tentatively wrapping his arms around Tony's neck. Tony kissed his temple and rocked them slowly, waiting until he felt Bucky start to relax before speaking again.

"So," he prompted, carefully pulling back enough to watch Bucky's face. "Bad dream?"

Bucky tensed. "Uh-huh," he mumbled, gripping the collar of Tony's shirt.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Bucky shook his head and hid his face in Tony's shoulder.

Tony nodded. "I understand," he said, leaning back against the headboard. "I don't like talking about my nightmares, either."

Bucky's head popped back up, eyes wide. "You get bad dreams, too?"

Tony smiled sadly. "Sure. Everybody does. Some more than others, but," He shrugged.

Bucky swallowed as he mulled that over. "What are your dreams about?" he asked softly, resting his head against Tony's shoulder.

Tony closed his eyes, fighting off a shudder at the thought. "Caves. Uh, water." He gulped and opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling so he wouldn't have to picture the stars. "Space and darkness, and being alone." He hugged Bucky a little tighter. "You help chase some of that away, though, buddy."

Bucky sat up, mouth open in awe. "Really?"

Tony chuckled. "Really." he said, brushing the hair out of Bucky's eyes.

Bucky looked down and chewed on his lip, pensieve, before looking back up to meet Tony's gaze. "Do you think…" He squirmed, his face filtering through emotions Tony couldn't identify. "Do you think you could chase away my bad dreams, Tony?"

Tony swallowed, and pulled Bucky back against his chest.

"I can sure try," Tony promised, tucking Bucky under his chin.

~X~

When Tony and Bucky came down for breakfast the next morning, it was to find the Avengers all assembled in the living room with Thor, a strange, glowing blue stone before them on the coffee table.

"Hey, big guy. When did you get back?" Tony asked carefully, noticing the way Bucky was tensing beside him and running a soothing hand through his hair. "You guys should have said something. J, why didn't you tell me?"

"We asked him not to - we didn't want to wake you," Steve said, standing up and smiling faintly at Bucky, who scowled back. "Thor was just telling us about the spell to reverse all this, and it seems pretty straightforward. Bucky just has to touch this stone, and whatever Loki did will dissipate."

Tony frowned, eyeing the stone distrustfully, while the death-grip Bucky had on his fingers increased. "Are we sure it's… I dunno, safe? I mean, how much do we trust what Loki has to say about things? You did get this from Loki, didn't you?"

"Your concerns are understood, but unfounded," Thor assured him, gesturing to the stone. "Once Loki divulged the nature of the spell, we were able to determine that this would work. It has been used to counter many enchantments in Asgard for centuries, and with no ill-effects. Our young shield-brother will still be well when this is over."

Tony nodded, biting his lip. "Okay… okay, I guess-"

"No." said a tiny, sullen voice, muffled by Tony's shirt. "I don't want to."

The room went dead silent as everyone took that in, glancing to one another.

Steve was the first to react. "Bucky, you can't-"

"NO! I don't want to, and you can't make me! Right, Tony?" Bucky pleaded, turning bright, watery eyes to Tony, and making Tony's stomach drop.

"Buddy…" he said carefully, combing a hand through Bucky's hair. He couldn't think of what to say, and glanced helplessly up at Steve.

"We have to reverse the spell, Bucky." Steve said firmly, bending down to Bucky's level. "This isn't negotiable. Thor says he doesn't know what the spell could do to you, long term. And Tony wants you to be safe, too. Don't you, Tony?" Steve said pointedly, looking up at Tony.

Tony glared daggers back, because that was low - real low. He made a face which he hoped conveyed that they were definitely going to talk about this later and, feeling like a heel, tried to smile reassuringly down at Bucky, who looked stricken.

"No!' Bucky whined, burying his head in Tony's stomach and squeezing tighter. "If I turn back, you won't love me anymore, or cuddle, or chase away the bad dreams, and, and-" He burst into a fresh wave of sobs that made the rest of his words unintelligible, his little body shaking.

Tony swallowed painfully, the part of his heart that wasn't breaking into tiny pieces catching in his throat.

"Bucky, baby, snowflake," Tony murmured, bending down so he was at Bucky's eye level and fighting back tears of his own. "I promise you, no matter what, that that won't happen. Do you hear me? I don't care if you're big or small, young or old, two or twenty - I will always be here for you. I'll always keep you safe after a bad dream, and you can have all the hugs and cuddles you want." He cupped Bucky's face in his hands and wiped some of the tears away with his thumbs. "I will _always_ love you, period. Okay?"

Bucky sniffed, his lower lip wobbling pitifully. "P-promise?" he sniffled, bunching his little hands in the fabric of Tony's shirt.

Tony nodded. "Promise," he said hoarsely, and kissed Bucky's forehead. He then looked over at Steve - who looked almost as upset as Tony felt - and nodded again, standing up and taking Bucky's hand in his.

Bucky squeezed his hand back, the grip strong for someone so little.

"Do we have to do this now, guys?" Tony asked, trying to keep his voice even.

"The sooner the better, my friend." Thor answered somberly. "The longer the spell lasts the more likely it is to have a lasting impact on our little shield-brother. It would be best to get it over with."

Tony nodded, but Bucky beat him to it.

"Okay," he said quietly, taking a trembling step forward, then glancing back up at Tony.

"Promise?" he whispered again, tugging Tony down towards him.

"Absolutely," Tony whispered back, giving him a tight hug.

Swallowing hard, Bucky stepped back and took a deep breath, then reached out and touched the stone.

There was a bright flash of light - not unlike the one that had gotten them into this mess to begin with - and then Tony found himself standing next to a full-grown Bucky Barnes, who staggered sideways.

Tony reached out and caught him before he could fall, Thor on his other side in an instant, while Steve rushed forward.

"Buck? You okay?" Steve asked worriedly as Thor and Tony helped Bucky to the couch.

Bucky grunted back. "Stevie? Yeah, yeah I'm-" He turned and made eye contact with Tony, and just like that, his face shut down, going carefully blank and empty.

Tony smiled faintly, backing up to let Steve take his place, and swallowed the painful lump in his throat as both Steve and Bruce started grilling Bucky, asking him on how he felt, what he remembered, and a bunch of other things Tony wasn't really paying attention to. Someone touched his arm, and when he turned he found Natasha at his side, smiling sadly at him.

Tony couldn't bring himself to return the gesture.

~X~

That night found Tony sitting outside on the balcony, watching the city lights with a cup of coffee in hand.

He couldn't sleep - not without images of soft brown hair covering blue eyes or tiny hands reaching for his interrupting his dreams - and didn't have the concentration to head down to the workshop. He'd thought being out here would clear his head, but all he could think about was how cold he felt without Bucky's comforting weight against his side.

Tony closed his eyes, rubbing a hand over his face, and tried to think of something - anything - else, when he heard a throat clear behind him.

He jumped and turned, startled, and couldn't help the sound of surprise that escaped him.

Because there was Bucky, hovering uncertainly in the doorway, watching Tony with red-rimmed eyes - full grown, but reminding Tony so much of his smaller self that Tony's chest ached.

Bucky hunched over on himself a little under Tony's gaze, hesitancy in every line of his body, but still took a step forward.

"I-" he swallowed visibly, his mouth trembling. "I had a, a bad dream," he said hoarsely, shivering and looking at Tony with so much hopeful yearning it hurt.

So Tony smiled, and, feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, did the only thing he could do - opened his arms.

* * *

 **AN:** Heh, full disclosure - I wrote this in one day, and while a just a _teensy_ bit loopy on cold meds. ^_^'


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